Improvement in post-drivers



2 she'etsQsheet 1.

W. A. NEWTON.

Post-Driver.

Patented May 27, 1879.

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f' lII I l lll UNITED 'raras PATENT Orrrco WILLIAM ArNEVVTON, OF OSAGETOVNSHIP, BATES COUNTY, MISSOURI.

IMPROVEMENT IN POST-DRIVERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 215,832, dated May 27,1879; application filed December 14, 1878.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM A. NEWTON, of Osage township, in the countyof Bates and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and usefulImprovementsin Post-Drivers; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to bea full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as willenable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and useit, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form part ofthis specification. My invention relates to a post-driver, moreespecially adapted for use in building wire fences, the design of thesame being` to provide improved mechanism whereby the bed-' frame of themachine may be maintained level, notwithstanding inequalities of theground upon which it may be worked, so that said bed-frame may beadjusted conformably to the position required of it, whether the machinebe ascending or descending a hill or rise of ground, and also so that itmay be moved laterally, as desired, upon its rearloose bolvster betweenperforated uprights, which latter, by means of engaging devices,maintain said bed-frame in place upon said bolster.

In addition to the above, my object is to provide improved constructionfor the operation of the posthammer, the entire construction of themachine being such as will best adapt the several working parts thereoftothe 'purposes required of them.

To this end my invention consists, iirst, in

' the combination, with abolster providedwith a perforated uprightrespectively at both extremities anda loose bed-frame fitting there? on,of bolts or equivalent fastening devices adapted to engage with theuprights at any` desired point thereof. above the bed-frame, whereby thelatter is maintained in position 5 second, in the combination, withabolster provided with va perforatedupriglit respectively at bothextremities and a loose upper bolster upon which the bed-frame'rests, ofa lever f1tting between said upper and lower holsters and adapted toraise the former to anyV desired point, together with bolts orequivalent devices engaging-with the uprights below said lever, wherebythe latter is maintained in proper adjustment 5 third, in thecombination, with a bolster provided with perforated upillustrate theparts.

rights respectively at both extremities and a loose upper bolster uponwhich the bed-frame rests, of a slotted lever and washer which fit overeach of said -uprights and are adapted to adj ust said loose bolsterrelatively to the lowcr fixed bolster; fourth, in the combination, witha bolster provided with av perforated upright at each extremity, a looseupper bolster upon which the bed-frame rests, and a hand-lever, ot' awasher located between the latter and the loose bolster, said leverbeing formed convex on its upper surface, which engages with the washer,and concave on its under side, which engages with the lower bolster.

The invention further consists in certain parts and combination ofparts, as hereinafter described and claimed.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a View, in side elevation, of mym chine, the same being shown free from a tripel; and other parts notessential to my invention, in order to -more clearly illustrate thelatter. Fig, 2 is a view'in sectional elevation thereof, with certainportions broken away. Fig. 3 is a plan View, also having certain partsVin section to better Fig. 4 is a view of the steel clamp, which may beused in the process of stretching the strands of wire on the fence.

The lower or fixed holsters, A, may be those of an ordinary wagon ortruck, and are supported upon a suitable vehicle or wheel device, thesame being immaterial to my invention. Each of said bolsters is providedwith perforated uprights B, secured, respectively, to oppositeextremities thereof. The upper or loose bolsters, C, upon which thebed-frameD rests, are adapted to be raised or lowered by means ofhand-lcversE, the upper surface of each of which is convex and hasbearing against a washer,F, while the under surface is concave and hasbearing against the lower bolster. l A

The loose holsters, the several hand-levers,

and the corresponding washers placed, re- Y Bolts, pins, staples, orequivalent fastening devices G are used to maintain the bed-frame inplace. WVhen the latter is to be`raised the fastening devices areremoved from above the same. The hand-levers raise the washers, loosebolster, and bed-frame to the desired height, and then the fasteningdevices Gr are connected in engagement with the upright both below thelever and above the bed-frame. Said bed-frame is thus secured in desiredadjnstmen t, and prevented from changing its position in movement eitherup or down.

The construction' of the parts is such that the bed-frame can bemaintained in constant level position whether the machine be on a sidehill, sloping either to the right or the left side thereof, or whetherit be ascending ahill or be working upon any kind of unequal ground. So,too, by means of lever mechanism, the rear end of the bed-frame may bemoved laterally upon its loose rear bolster within the space formedbetween the two uprights thereon. Lever H accomplishes this movement bybeing connected, respectively, with the bed-frame and the loose bolster,whilesaid movementJ is permitted by raising lever K, whichlatter ispivoted to the upper surface ot' one of the sills of the bed-frames. Apin, 7c, passes through vertical slot d in said sill, and engages withone of a sei'ies of holes, c, made in the appropriate bolster.

The hammer L is made in transverse horizontal sections, secured togetherby bolt-andniit engagement, so that greater or less weight may beobtained, as desired, by adding or taking away sections.

Angular horizontal arms m project from both sides ofthe hammer, and areadapted to embrace the central longitudinal grooves with which thevertical ways M are formed, said arms having anti-friction rollers ljournaled therein, and which travel in said grooved ways.

The hainmer-rope N passes over grooved pulley P, the journals of whichlatter havev bearing, respectively, upon the smooth peripheries ot'pulleys Q. Said bearing-pulleys are itted withinvertically-recessed-standards 1t, located, respectively, upon oppositesides 'of said rope-pulley.

The rope is wound upon drinn S, which latter is adapted to be engaged inconnection with shaft T, so as to have simultaneous rotary movementtherewith, by means of one or more feathers or splines, s, which engagewith corresponding grooves, said feathers and grooves bein g formed,respectively, upon either the drum or shaft.

A spiral spring, U, encircles the extremity of said shaft opposite tothe end on which said eather-and-groove mechanism is formed, and by endbearing against its contiguous end of the drum maintains the latter inengagement with the shaft. This engagement is broken by n ieans of leverW, formed with a concave portion, fw, adapted to it wi thin groove t,formed A catch,w, serves to secure on the drum.

said lever in position, when the drum is thereby disengaged from theshaft. Gear-shaft X engages with said drum-shaft, and may be rotated bycrank-handles or other suitable means. Any suitable pawl mechanism maybe used to hold said geanshaft or prevent it from retrograde movement.

The advantage of this peculiar construction ot' shaft-and-drunimechanism is, that thereby the haminer-rope 4is prevented from runningoff too much slack when the hammer is lowered. desired height, and thelittle friction exerted by the spring and lever upon the rotating drumprevents the latter from unrolling too much, and thus causing unduetrouble of rewinding the rope on the drum.

The construction thus far pertains to such parts as are brought into usein driving posts for a fence, and the same constitutes my iiivention;but certain other parts adapted for use in stretching the wire upon theposts will now be described, in order to explain their appearance in thedrawings. It will be understood, however, that I do not herein claimsaid parts used in stretching the wire, but reserve the right to claimthe saine in a future,

application for separate patent thereon.

The manner of this latter operation is as follows: After the posts for astring o t' fence are driven, and the same are ready for the wire to beconnected therewith, rope N is loosened from the hammer, thus permittingthe latter to drop from the machine. The free end of said rope is drawnout of the pulley P and extended in horizontal line from drum S, towhich it still remains secured rearward ofthe wagon. Clamp Y is thenconnected to said free end of the rope. A coil of wire is put upon thevertical spool Z, located on the front portion of the wagon, and its endfastened to one of the horizontal rolls Z', located at the rear portionof the wagon. The crank of drum S is then removed Jfrom the latter andput upon the journal of said roll. By operating said crank the wire isunwound from its coil and rewound upon the horizontal roll. In placingfresh coils upon the rotating spool, as may be necessary, in order towind a suflicient quantity of wire upon the roll, the ends ofthedifferent coils are duly spliced together. This process is repeated forthe two remaining rolls, or for as many rolls as there are to be wiresto the fence.

The wagon is driven to the place where the wire is to be irst connectedto the fence. The ends of the several wires are, respectively, securedto the rst post in due position, and then the wagon is driven alongsidethe row of posts, thus causing the wire to be unwound from the rolls forany certain distance-for instance, one hundred feet. The wagon is thenstopped, and clamp Y is engaged with one ot' the Wires at suitable pointof the latter. By rotating drum S, by means of its crank, any desiredstrain is imposed upon said wire, and when the latter is stretched toits due tension Said hammer can be dropped from any it is then fastenedat a suitable point to one of the posts by staples or otherwise.

The above operation is repeated in instance of each of the severalwires, after which the wagon is driven for another distance or section,and the wires for the latter tightened and secured to the posts as aboveuntil the whole string of fence is duly made.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination, with a bolster provided with a perforated upright ateach end and a loose bed -frame fitting thereon, of bolts or equivalentfastening devices adapted to engage with the uprights at any desiredpoint thereof above the bed-frame, whereby the latter is maintained inposition, substantially as set forth.

2. rEhe combination, with abolster provided with a perforated uprightat'each end and a loose upper bolster upon which the bed-frame rests, ofa leverftting between said upper and lower holsters and adapted to raisethe former to any'desired point, together with bolts or equivalentdevices engaging with the uprights below said lever, whereby the latteris maintained in proper adjustment, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination, with a bolster provided with perforated uprights ateach end and a loose upper bolster upon which the bed-framc rests, of aslotted lever and washer which fit over each of said uprights and areadapted to adjust said loose bolster relative to the lower fixedbolster, substantially as set forth.`

4. The combination, with a bolster provided with a perforated upright ateach extremity, a loose upper bolster upon which the bedframe rests, anda hand-lever, of a washer located between the latter and the loose b01-ster, said lever being formed convex on its upper surface, which engageswith the washer, and concave on its under side, which engages with thelower bolster, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination, with vertical ways, having central longitudinalgrooves formed therein, of a hammer provided with angular horizontalarms projecting from both sides thereof and adapted to embrace thegrooved ways, said arms having rollers j ournaled therein which travelin said ways, substantially as set forth.

6. The combination, with the longitudinal grooved ways, and the hammerform ed with lateral arms embracing the same and provided with rollerswhich travel in said ways, of the hammer-rope, the pulley over which thelatter passes, and the rollers upon which the journals of the pulleyshave bearing, said rollers working in vertically-recessed standards inwhich they respectively fit, substantially as set forth.

7. The combination, with the rotating shaft T and the independent drumS, having featherand-groove engagement therewith at one eX- tremity, ofthe spiral spring U, encircling the opposite extremity of said shaft,and compressed between said drum and the bed-frame, together with thelever W, formed with the central concave portion, w, fitting in thetransverse annular groove t made iu the same end of the drum, and thecatch w', which secures said lever in position7 substantially as setforth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this9th day of December, 1878.

WILLIAM A. NEWTON.

Witnesses:

THos. H. CRAIG, GEORGE KALER.

